Return of a Comrade
by tsunami1156
Summary: The government desperately needs an assassin, but to what lengths will they go to get him? And how will their plans affect the Kenshin-gumi? Rated for mild language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

The officer turned to Yamagata, "Have you decided yet on our plan of action, sir?"

The other man turned to face him, "I believe I have. It's a rather delicate situation, and we can't afford to make any mistakes." Turning to the rest of the officers in the room, he continued, "Listen carefully. This is top-secret government information. If any of it is leaked, then the plan will fail and the one responsible will be…punished accordingly. What you are about to be instructed should never be repeated, even after the plan has been carried out and especially if it successful. Our comrade cannot know of our plot of his return or it would be the ruin of us all. Now let's begin…"

In the corner of the room, a tall officer with golden eyes grunted as he blew out smoke from his cigarette.

"Do you have a problem, Officer Fujita?"

Fujita stepped forward from the shadows; "You think that you can trick him into working for you? Your little scheme won't work. If you want him here then you're going to have to come up with something better than that."

"And what exactly would you suggest?"

"Use something real. Faking that girl's death would certainly do the trick, but it wouldn't take long for him to figure it out. However, he is technically a fugitive from the government, is he not?"

Yamagata thought for a moment, "And she is breaking the law by knowingly harboring a criminal." Saito gave a slight smirk in acknowledgment. Yamagata turned to his officers again, "A change of plans, fellas."

--

"Come on, Yahiko. You need to concentrate harder than that," Kaoru repeated to her pupil.

"It's hard to concentrate with your ugly face in front of me," the boy grunted in reply.

"What was that?" she shrieked back.

Kenshin sat on the steps watching the whole scene and bit back a laugh. Kaoru and Yahiko fought every day; it was a usual start to the morning.

"Kenshin?" Kenshin was pulled from his reverie as he turned to Kaoru.

"Huh?"

"Would you mind running to town and getting some more tofu? I was thinking of trying to make dinner tonight," Kaoru smiled, as Yahiko practiced his strokes.

Yahiko suddenly stopped mid-swing, "Y-you're going to make dinner tonight?"

Kaoru rounded on him, "You have a problem with that, brat?"

As they started bickering again, Kenshin simply smiled, saying, "Now, now, Kaoru-dono's cooking isn't that bad…"

Kaoru stopped beating her student and wheeled on the unsuspecting rurouni, "Not that bad? Fine, then maybe you can just go find your own food!"

Kenshin slowly started to inch towards the gate; "I'll just go buy the tofu now."

_Please review this for me! I'm not sure if I should continue or not, so your input would be really helpful._

_Also, one of the reviews brought up a good point about how Kenshin would be considered a criminal. He really isn't, but the government just wants to use him as their assassin, so they're going to claim that he is in this story. I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, and I just thought it'd be an interesting story. Sorry for any confusion! And thanks :)_


	2. Chapter 2

On the way back to the dojo, Kenshin could sense someone following him. He quickly scanned the area's ki, which he recognized immediately. He abruptly turned the corner, away from the main road, and set down the tofu. With one hand resting on his sakabatou, he called out, "What do you want, Saito?"

On cue, Saito stepped out from the tree and tipped his cap. "Battousai."

Kenshin faced him, "Why are you following me?"

"Hmf. Is that how you always greet old friends?"

"You're not a friend."

Saito shrugged and lit another cigarette. "I have a warning for you."

"A warning?" Kenshin's eyes narrowed.

"There's been some unrest in other parts of the country lately. People have been saying that the government's being too lenient on criminals. They're all fools. Still, we can't have the people trying to overthrow the government now, can we?"

"Your point?"

"So the government's decided that it's time to deal with their…most notorious fugitive."

"And how exactly are they planning on dealing with him?"

"Prison, death, they haven't decided. But I thought I'd let you know now, so you can figure out your course of action."

Kenshin was silent for a moment before responding, "I'll come quietly. I don't plan on causing more of a disturbance than is necessary."

"I thought you'd say that." Saito turned to leave. "But just so you know, it's not going to be that simple. There's a certain girl that they've decided needs to pay for harboring such a criminal." Kenshin's eyes widened in horror, and his ki flared in rage. Saito smirked and continued to walk away.

As Kenshin approached the dojo, he covered his eyes with his bangs. Kaoru hurried up to him as he stepped in, "Thank you, Kenshin!" She smiled at him as her hands brushed his when she reached for the tofu. But her smile was short-lived when she saw that his eyes were dark.

"Where's Yahiko?"

"Y-Yahiko? He's at the Akabeko. Kenshin, is there something wrong?"

"I need to talk to you…quickly." Kaoru stared at him with a confused look on her face. He grabbed her hand, "come."

They started towards the dojo when the distinct sound of carriages was heard approaching the dojo.

"What's that?" Kaoru asked, turning around towards the gate.

"It's too late," Kenshin said darkly.

"What do you mean?" Kenshin ignored her and started walking towards the gate, his hand firmly gripping the hilt of his sakabatou.

About twenty officers came rushing into the dojo and surrounded the two. Kaoru gasped in shock, but Kenshin remained still in the middle, seemingly calm.

Another carriage pulled up in front of the gate, and Yamagata stepped out. "Good day, Himura. I'm sorry to be so abrupt, but this matter cannot be forestalled any longer. I suspect you know what matter I am referring to."

Kenshin's now gold eyes glared at him. "Yes." There was a universal click of the guns as they were pointed at Kaoru. She let out a small "eep" as she saw each gun be directed at her.

"Move an inch, Himura, and these men will shoot freely." Yamagata moved forward and directed the two guards at his side to act. "Kamiya Kaoru, you are hereby under arrest for the harboring of a fugitive from the government. Himura Kenshin, I do not believe that I need to go over your crimes." The two men grabbed Kaoru and tied her wrists behind her back before shoving her forward towards the carriage.

"Bastards," Kenshin growled, eyes glowing feral amber.

"Let go of me," she cried. "Kenshin!" She knew that he was helpless to stop them while the guns were still pointed at her. With one last cry, she was pushed into the carriage, which quickly drove away. Kenshin was left alone with Yamagata and two other officers.

"Do you think it wise to leave so few guards here?" Kenshin asked angrily.

"I'm sorry that it had to turn out like this, Himura, but the riots have become too great of late. If we do not take the matter seriously, then the Meiji government will fail, and we need your help. I have a proposition for you." Kenshin made no response to show that he was listening, but Yamagata continued. "We planned to have an open execution of the two of you to show that we are still cracking down on criminals. However, nothing's public, so…accommodations can be made." He pulled out a piece of paper. "This calls for your deaths, but this," he continued, pulling out another sheet, "is a request for your services."

"I'm not going to work for you."

"You have two choices, Himura. You can ignore me and watch the girl die, or you can accept your fate and the girl lives. Do you really want to be responsible for that girl's death?"

Kenshin watched the service paper in Yamagata's hands and snatched it, glowing eyes scanning it carefully. "I'll need a new daisho."

"It will be arranged. Welcome back, Himura Battousai," Yamagata replied, tearing up the execution papers.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaoru awoke to find herself in her room. Her head pounded as she searched around her room. "Was it all a dream?" She stood up, realizing that she was still in her kimono. "That's odd," she said quietly. "I must have fallen asleep in it." She smoothed out the wrinkles in her kimono and then froze. Her wrists were red. Her eyes widened and her breath caught as she brought her wrists up to eye level. It confirmed her fears; there were marks from ropes. It hadn't been a dream. In a daze, she stumbled out of her room and ran frantically down the hall towards Kenshin's room. She threw open the door and found the room empty. All of Kenshin's things were gone. She sank to her knees and cried.

Yahiko came in at that moment, "Kaoru? What's wrong?"

"H-He's gone."

Yahiko hurried over and looked in the room. "Kenshin's gone? Why? Where'd he go?"

"He was arrested. We were both arrested. But I thought it was a dream when I woke up in my room…then why am I here? They took me away, too. But—." She paused as she remembered the events. "They knocked me out once I was in the carriage, and then I woke up here."

Yahiko stared at her. "They arrested Kenshin? Then we should go to the station! Even if he's a jerk, maybe Saito'll help us!"

Kaoru nodded numbly and followed the boy out the gate.

When they reached the station, they found Saito calmly sitting in a corner, smoking a cigarette as usual. "Saito!" Yahiko called.

The wolf of Mibu sighed as he turned to the boy, "Oh, it's you."

"Where's Kenshin? Is he here?"

"How should I know what that idiot is doing? Am I his babysitter?"

Yahiko looked at him angrily. Kaoru stepped forward quietly, "Saito, I know that you know where he is. Please, can I see him?"

"Hmf, you're right. I do know where he is, but you can't see him."

"What? Why not?"

"If everything goes according to plan, then you'll see him tomorrow."

"Huh?" Yahiko and Kaoru said simultaneously.

Saito waved them off, "There's a riot tomorrow around three. Now go away."

"But why would he be there?" Kaoru asked confused.

Saito got up and opened one of the doors down the hallway. "Crowd control," he said simply before stepping inside the room.

Saito was greeted by a pair of glowing amber eyes in the corner of the room. "Speak of the devil." Battousai stepped forward, his left hand resting on the hilt of his katana.

"Saito."

Saito threw him a black envelope. "This is your next assignment. There's going to be a riot tomorrow, and we need you in case it gets…out of hand. It's not your usual line of work, but I think you'll get the job done."

The Battousai looked over the letter and cocked his eyebrow, "Killing out in the open? Aren't I a shadow assassin?"

"I don't think they really care if people know you're around or not. It's not like the Bakumatsu…there's no one you need to hide from. And there's no one who is going to be there to stop your assassinations anyway, except for whatever sorry government pig has it coming. But I think we both know that they can't defend anything."

The Battousai smirked in reply, "It'll be a nice change of pace then." Saito nodded in reply.


	4. Chapter 4

"Busu, hurry up! It's supposed to start in an hour!" Yahiko yelled impatiently. "What's taking her so long anyway?"

"She's probably trying to primp and look all cute for Kenshin," Sano replied, appearing out of nowhere.

Yahiko jumped up in surprise. "Sano! How'd you know what we're doing?"

He shrugged, "Jou-chan mentioned it to me earlier. Oi, Jou-chan. Almost ready yet?"

Kaoru threw open the door of the dojo. "Okay, I'm ready now," she said breathlessly. Yahiko and Sano both stared at her. She was wearing a beautiful dark-blue kimono with silver sakura petals, and her hair was lightly pinned at the nape of her neck. She looked breathtaking. "What are you two staring at? Let's go!" She grabbed the other two and dragged them behind her.

"I was right," Sano winked at Yahiko.

Once they reached the market, it was clear that a riot was indeed happening. They could see a large group of men standing in front of the gates of the government building, shouting. "What are they rioting about anyway?" Kaoru asked Sano.

"Some guys told me the other night that there was going to be a riot about the government not doing enough to stop criminals. There's been a lot of pretty bad crime lately, and people are getting tired of not getting a response from the government. But I still don't get why Kenshin would be here…Kaoru?"

"I don't know," Kaoru said quietly, as they walked closer to the crowds. "But Saito said something about 'crowd control.'"

"That dirty cop?"

"Yes." Kaoru was about to say more but a loud voice was heard above the shouts of the crowd.

"I assure you that the government is doing all that they can." An officer on a horse came out before the crowd. "Now stand back."

One of the men in the crowd shouted, "You government dogs are the reason _for_ all this crime!" There was a murmur of agreement that rippled through the crowd.

The officer shouted again, "I said stand back! This riot is only causing more unneeded unrest and will not help matters. If you refuse to disperse this riot, then we will be forced to push you back ourselves! And we will not be held responsible."

"This isn't going to be good," Sano muttered. "We should probably get out of here. I don't think Kenshin's coming."

"Are they going to use an infantry?" Kaoru asked worriedly.

"I think so, but there isn't one nearby that I see."

The officer continued, "I repeat. Stand back!" However, the crowd continued to yell. "You give us no choice." There was a loud BOOM as they heard the doors of the gate slam open. The restless crowd didn't move but simply raised weapons. The officer had moved away. Kaoru stared at the smoke, trying to see whatever was behind it.

Suddenly a man in the crowd gasped, "It's the Battousai! It's the Hitokiri Battousai!" Kaoru, Sano, and Yahiko all swirled around in shock.

Through the smoke, glowing amber eyes could be seen, and everyone heard the purposefully loud unsheathing of a blade. When the smoke finally dispersed, it was frightening sight to behold. He stood before them, red hair tied up in a topknot clad in a tattered navy gi and grey hakama, which only further terrified the crowd. He had a daisho at his waist. His arms were covered guards. He had one hand resting on the hilt of his wakizashi and the other held his unsheathed katana at his side. Although he faced them with angry, amber eyes, his face maintained a look of cool indifference. And he didn't look a day older than eighteen. Although he spoke quietly, his cold voice could be heard by everyone, "I don't really have time for upstarts, but if you insist on causing commotion, then I have no choice but to stop you." He flicked his blade in the light, causing most of the crowd to run away in panic. However a dozen men remained behind, clutching their swords and pitchforks.

"We will not stand down," they said angrily. "It's twelve to one. We have the advantage."

The Battousai looked at them lazily, "Idiots. If a death is what you want, then I will mercifully grant your request."

"We're not the one who is going to die," a man shouted as he charged forward.

The Battousai watched him rush forward and dispatched of him quickly with a clean cut through his neck. Kaoru gasped in fright. She, Yahiko, and Sano had stepped farther away from the crowd in order to avoid the conflict, but the scene could still be seen clearly. "Kenshin," she breathed. Sano held her up so that she didn't faint.

The other men charged forward, and the Battousai went through their ranks in less than a minute, killing each man with one swing, sometimes taking out more than one at a time. After the carnage, he stood amidst their bodies, covered in blood. He swung his sword to clear it of the blood and quickly sheathed it. He turned back around towards the gates and muttered "take care of this mess" to the nearest officer before calmly striding back to the government building. Yamagata stood at the doorway.

"Good job, Himura. You seem to have not lost your touch." The Battousai ignored him and continued inside. "Or your stubbornness," Yamagata sighed as he watched the hitokiri disappear.


	5. Chapter 5

"I-I don't understand," Kaoru cried. They had barely made it down the street before she had collapsed, so they decided to stop at the Akabeko and have dinner, despite the fact that none of them had much of an appetite.

Tae quietly poured more tea. "Try not to get down, Kaoru. Maybe it wasn't him." She looked around for support but received none. Sano and Yahiko simply looked down. "Well you don't know for sure, do you?"

Sano interrupted, "Tae, as much as I would like to lie and say that we don't know for sure…it was him and we all know it. The way he moved his sword, the color of his hair, even the way he walked. It was all Kenshin, and we would just be ignorant to tell ourselves otherwise."

"But why would he do this?" Kaoru whispered. "Kenshin would never do something like this! He killed a dozen men without a second thought…after not killing in ten years. What would make him change his mind?"

"I think there's more to the situation than meets the eye," Sano said. "Didn't you say you two were arrested?"

"Y-yes, but they didn't keep me."

"Do you know why?"

"No, but—"

"I suspect that the reason would explain what's going on with Kenshin. Think about it. You were both arrested, but they took you first, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"And then you woke up free, and Kenshin is working for the government." Sano stood up and slammed a fist on the table, "They blackmailed him. Those underhanded bastards!"

Kaoru stared at him in confusion. "Sano, what are you talking about?"

"In exchange for your life, Kenshin is working for those bastards. If he didn't, then you wouldn't be here. You'd probably be waiting to be executed right now. They probably never really cared about you and your so-called _crimes_ in the first place. They just wanted Kenshin. And the worst part is that he probably knows that, too."

"You mean, Kenshin's killing so that I can live?" Sano nodded in reply. Kaoru stood up and started running towards the door.

"Hey, where are you going, Jou-chan?"

"I'm going to speak to Saito," she replied firmly before disappearing down the street.

--

"So, Battousai, how was it?" Saito grinned.

"It was surprisingly satisfying," he replied.

"You're not a prisoner, you know. You can go back to the dojo."

The Battousai merely grunted in reply. "And do what, Saito? Return at night drenched in blood and say, 'Good morning, Kaoru-dono. Fine weather we're having,'" he continued sarcastically.

"I see your point."

"Besides, it's better this way."

"HAJIME SAITO!" The two turned at the sound of a woman's shriek.

"Excuse me, Battousai," Saito mumbled. "Sounds like my wife."

Kaoru came bursting into the police station and ignored the stunned officer at the front. "HAJIME SAITO!"

She saw a puff of smoke come into the hallway as the ex-captain of the Shinsengumi sauntered down the haul. When he saw her, he snorted, "Oh, its you. I thought it was my wife."

Kaoru momentarily forgot why she had come and said bewilderedly, "Y-You have a wife?"

"Is it that surprising?"

"Well, you don't exactly seem like a charming--,"

He interrupted, "What are you doing here?"

Kaoru immediately tensed up again, "I came here to find out why Kenshin was…was…."

"I told you yesterday. Crowd control."

Kaoru stared at him. "You call that crowd control? That was murder! You're making him kill again! Why?"

"We're not making him do anything. He returned his services to us out of his own free will."

"But I thought that…I thought that he was only doing it because of me. To save my life."

Saito smirked, "Don't flatter yourself. Anyway, it's his choice whether he wants to save you or not. We didn't force him to do anything."

Kaoru glared at him, "You're turning him into some sort of monster!"

"Himura Battousai is exactly the same as he always has been but with… improved ideals."

"Improved ideals?" Kaoru asked incredulously. "He decided to become a wanderer who doesn't kill and the government refuses to let him live his life in peace. Are you so desperate that you need a hitokiri that badly?" Kaoru saw a hint of amber appear down the hallway and pushed past Saito. "Kenshin?" Saito sighed and followed after her.

Kaoru stopped in front of one of the rooms and cautiously entered, seeing a dark figure sitting against the wall in the corner. He had one blade sitting beside him and the other propped up against his shoulder. "Kenshin?" His head raised and amber eyes met hers.

Saito grabbed her from behind, "Come on, Kamiya girl. Let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

Sano watched the girl walking slowly down the road towards the dojo. Her eyes were red from tears, her face was pale, and her feet dragged on the ground. Everything about her gave Sano the sense that her world was falling apart. He stepped forward and helped her to the house. She sat down on the steps and buried her head in her hands, soaking them with tears.

"Kaoru," Sano said quietly. It was one of the rare times that he used her name instead of 'Jou-chan.' Yahiko appeared from inside and stopped at the door, watching the woman whom he loved as a sister falling apart. "What happened, Kaoru?" Sano asked softly.

Kaoru stopped shaking and looked up slowly, staring at the ground in front of her. "You were right, Sanoske," she whispered.

"Right about what?" Yahiko encouraged.

"Everything." Kaoru turned around, but her eyes still faced the floor. "They're using him. I was too weak to stop it. Why can't they just leave him alone?" She choked on her last words; her voice hoarse from crying.

Sano and Yahiko moved and sat on each side of her for comfort. "It's not your fault, Jou-chan. Those government pigs will do anything to save their own asses."

"It's not right, though," Yahiko said sadly. "Kenshin always has to pay for being the strongest. I guess being the best isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Sano nodded at Yahiko's wise statement. Kaoru shook her head furiously, "It's not fair! It's just not—," but she couldn't finish.

Just then, Megumi strolled into the dojo. "Oh, Ken-san!" she called mischievously. "Oh, Kaoru, what are you sniveling about now? And where's Ken-san?" She put her hands on her hips and glanced around, not noticing the looks that the other three were giving her.

Sano stood up and started to lead Megumi away, "Come on, fox lady, I'm gonna take you home. Yahiko, look after Jou-chan for me, will you?"

Megumi started bickering with Sano as he dragged her out of the dojo. Yahiko looked over at Kaoru. After a long silence, he finally asked, "So, what do we do now?"

Kaoru shook her head, "I…don't know. What is there to do?"

--

Saito walked over to the angry redhead. He looked directly into the flaming amber eyes, and for the first time, the wolf of Mibu felt a chill up his spine in the presence of the man known as Hitokiri Battousai. His eyes promised almost certain death. Saito shook off his uneasy feeling and leaned casually against the wall. "Still sure you don't want to go back to that wimpy girl and her dojo?" The Battousai merely grunted in reply.

There was a knock on the door as Yamagata stepped forward. He nodded to Saito before approaching the Battousai. "Himura, I have another assignment for you." He held out a black envelope. "I apologize that it's not a very exciting mission, but the four men are stirring up too much unrest in the city and must be stopped. We want it to look like a disagreement gone wrong so that the people of Tokyo do not suspect any government involvement."

"So you want me to play around with their deaths?"

"If that's how you want to put it, yes. Kill them however you like, but just make sure that it doesn't look like an assassination."

As Yamagata turned to leave, Kenshin stepped forward, "Yamagata-san." The man turned to face the swordsman; a mutual understanding between them.

"I'll send someone over to make sure she's alright" was all he said before leaving.

"Thank you." Saito watched the swordsman return to his post against the wall before also leaving the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Sano heard a knock on the gates of the dojo. "What now?" He had just finished calming down a very angry doctor after breaking the news to her, and he was exhausted from trying to comfort Kaoru as well. Yahiko had helped him out a lot, but he couldn't take any more stress. He got up, hands in his pockets, and sauntered over to the door.

Kaoru stepped out, "Who is it, Sano?"

"I don't know, Jou-chan, but stay back." He opened the gate to reveal a lone police officer. It was the same man who had been with Okubo after Kenshin's fight with Saito during the whole Shishio dealing. "It's you," Sano said sourly.

"I was sent here by Yamagata-san to check on the young woman," he responded, ignoring Sano's angry looks.

Kaoru took a step forward curiously. "To check on me?"

"Yes."

"What, to make sure that I don't run away? Are you going to keep me hostage now to make sure that I can always be used as bait? Are you that cruel?" she shouted angrily.

The officer shook his head, "No, I am here to make sure that you are doing well."

"Doing well? You stole Kenshin from me, so how do you _think_ I am doing?" she was advancing on the man quickly.

"We needed him to keep peace in Japan. It is his duty."

"What did he do to deserve this? I don't remember him agreeing to help you selfish bastards get yourselves out of situations that _you_ created!"

"He sold his soul when he agreed to be an assassin for the Ishin Shishi!"

Kaoru was silent. Sano grabbed the man by his shirt, "So you're going to hold him to something that he agreed to when he was 14?"

"It was his decision. Sacrifices had to be made."

"Even to ruin the life of a teenager forever?"

"If that was what it took, then yes. The revolution isn't over, and the Ishin Shishi's greatest warrior still has work to do. If you like the peace right now, then I suggest you let us do our job." Sano shook his head in disgust.

"You guys make me sick."


End file.
